WATCH: India squad reaches UK, no fans present to welcome (Source: BCCI)
India men's squad landed in the United Kingdom on Saturday, June 7 ahead of the blockbuster five-match Test series against England, which also is the curtain-raiser for the 2025–27 ICC World Test Championship (WTC) cycle for both the sides. With the retirements of star players Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Ravichandran Ashwin from the longest format, this tour will be led by new skipper Shubman Gill, with a relatively fresh squad.
The Indian squad, which departed from Mumbai on Friday, arrived in the UK over the weekend. A behind-the-scenes video shared by the BCCI showed the squad's mood throughout their travel and at London's Heathrow Airport. Notably, in the video, ace pacer Jasprit Bumrah was joking about Gill’s choice to wear sunglasses at night. Up-and-coming batter B Sai Sudharsan, who earned his maiden Test call-up, expressed his excitement for the tour.
"Excited to be part of the Indian Test team. Welcome to the UK," said the youngster in the video.
Watch video of India squad's arrival in UK hereNotably, whenever and wherever the Indian team travels, there has always been a huge crowd waiting for them patiently at team hotels or airports. However, this time, according to reports, there was a limited number of media personnel and only a handful of number of fans present to welcome the Indian side as they touched down in London.
Meanwhile, before the series begins, India are scheduled to play a four-day warm-up match against India A. Furthermore, several other members of the squad were already in the UK, participating in the India A matches, acclimatizing to local conditions. The five-Test series will take place between June and August 2025 at historic English venues - Headingley (Leeds), Edgbaston (Birmingham), Lord’s and The Oval (London), and Old Trafford (Manchester).
India squad for England seriesShubman Gill (C), Rishabh Pant (VC & WK), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, Nitish Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel (WK), Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd. Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav
